British Stirling Engine helps electricity production…. (and it’s solar)0

The Stirling engine (or Stirling’s air engine as it was known at the time) was invented and patented by Robert Stirling in 1816. The Stirling engine was developed by Reverend Robert Stirling in Edinburgh in 1816 as an alternative to the steam engine. It uses alternate heating and cooling of an enclosed gas to drive pistons, which turn a flywheel. Originally conceived in 1816 as an industrial prime mover to rival the steam engine, its practical use was largely confined to low-power domestic applications for over a century.

Now a Swedish company is using the old technology in it’s record breaking solar panels.

Ripasso has claimed it has produced a new solar electricity generation system that is the most efficient inCSP
the world. It is currently being tested in South Africa’s Kalahari desert and recent test have shown that it is converting 32% of the suns energy to grid available electric power as opposed to the 15% we currently get out of standard photovoltaic panels.

The panels themselves look like massive satellite dishes. These 100 metre square dishes slowly follow the sun, constantly capturing the maximum solar energy. UK company IT Power, a World leading renewable energy consultancy firm, were commissioned in 2014 to test the technology. The results showed a single dish can generate up to 85 megawatt hours of electricity a year which is enough to power 24 UK homes.

CSPThe technology works by using the mirrors as giant lenses that focus the sun’s energy to a tiny hot point, which in turn drives a zero-emission Stirling engine. Unfortunately Ripasso’s new solar panels are not destined for our shores however as the system is only useful in areas with constant bright sunshine.

Due to material limitations at the time, the advanced Stirling engine that Ripasso uses was not commercially developed until 1988, when Swedish defence contractor Kokums started making them for submarines. Because the Stirling engine is compatible with alternative and renewable energy sources it could become increasingly significant as the price of conventional fuels rises, and also in light of concerns such as peak oil and climate change. This engine is currently exciting interest as the core component of micro combined heat and power (CHP) units, in which it is more efficient and safer than a comparable steam engine. Brings meaning to the saying “there’s life in the old dog yet!”

blog, Energy, Technology

Wireless Charging for Cars is the future0

An all-electric bus route featuring wireless charging technology has been launched in Milton Keynes. Wireless charging plates installed in the road transfer energy to receiving plates under the bus, recharging its batteries enough to help it complete the town’s 17-hour daily bus service.

The buses will run for five years in a carefully monitored demonstration programme, which will objectively assess their technical and commercial viability.

Eight electric buses will take over a route that even diesel buses find demanding: running 17 hours a day, seven days a week, with each bus covering over 56,000 miles per year. However, the Milton Keynes buses have wireless charging to help them meet the demands of their route.

Instead of plugging into the mains, the new buses will be able to recharge their batteries wirelessly during their working day. This means they can run a continuous service for a whole 17 hours, just like a diesel bus. The concept is simple: wireless charging plates set into the road transfer power directly to receiving plates underneath the bus, using a technique based on the principles of electrical induction. In just 10 minutes, a bus parked over a charging point will replenish two-thirds of the energy consumed on its 15-mile route. Only two wireless charging points are needed to service all eight buses, which will charge in the time scheduled for driver breaks.

With this new technology we ask how long will it be before this can be adapted and implemented into the house hold car? Already two car manufacturers have enabled their cars to accept wireless charging: Nissan LEAF and Chevrolet Volt how long will it be before the others follow in their footsteps.

In September 2013 the FIA international motorsports body announced plans to launch the electric-car competition in 2014 as an alternative to Formula 1. Qualcomm signed up as a sponser and announced its commitment to provide wireless-charging and augmented-reality technology to help the teams taking part and the public watching the races. Drayson Formula E Car

The wireless vehicle-charging tech, Halo, is being developed by the company’s London-based lab – creates an electromagnetic field using a copper pad buried in the ground. This can be picked up by a coil built into a vehicle, which converts it into electricity to power-up a battery.

British Formula E team Drayson Racing Technologies has already tested a customised version of Halo as a way of charging its vehicles when they are stationary.

In the first year of the championship the technology will only be used to recharge the competition’s safety vehicle before extending it to the competitors’ cars in either year two or three.

In time, Qualcomm said, several pads could be built into the city centre roads used by the races to provide “dynamic charging” – the ability for the cars to top up their power on the go, helping them complete the race in quicker time. So isn’t it about time that we looked into whether this is feasible to roll out on our public roads? How long before wireless charging for cars is rolled out and thus making the electric car a more attractive option for everybody?

 

blog, Energy, Transport

UK gets windy

UK makes the most of its Wind0

After experiences one of the windiest ends to last year and it looking like the wet and windy weather is due to carry on throughout January, we learn that it is not all bad news.

January wet weather

According to RenewableUK,  December 2013 was a record-breaking period for wind power in the UK, with more electricity generated from wind than in any other month. A few other records were shattered too, including the amount of electricity generated in a week and the percentage of electricity supplied by wind in a single month compared to other forms of power generation, which was higher than ever before.

The Saturday before Christmas (21st December), one of the busiest shopping days of the year, saw a record daily amount of electricity produced from wind with 132,812 MWh generated, 17% of the nation’s total electricity demand that day.

 

Maf Smith, Deputy Chief Executive of RenewableUK said:

“This is a towering achievement for the British wind energy industry. It provides cast-iron proof that the direction of travel away from dirty fossil fuels to clean renewable sources is unstoppable.

wind_farm

“In December, we generated more electricity from wind for British homes and businesses than during any other month on record – and we also hit weekly and daily highs.

“This gives us a great sense of confidence for the year ahead, when we will continue to increase the amount of clean power we generate from wind, onshore and offshore.

“As we do so, we are lessening our dependence on excruciatingly expensive imports 

of fossil fuels which have driven people’s fuel bills up. British wind energy is providing a better alternative – a stable, secure, cost-effective supply of home-grown power”

 

 

blog, Energy